Author: Elizabeth DeBarros

For all of you who have, perhaps, been neglecting your ukuleles, it’s time to dust them off.

Liz DeBarros has a couple of online Zoom workshops for you to get back into playing again.

Both aimed at Beginners or “uke neglecters”, these are the perfect way to get back into playing or improving your current skills.

COOL HAND UKE – or How To use your chord hand

Available online on  EITHER Thursday July 16th at 11am  OR Saturday July 18th at 11am via ZOOM

This 45 minute workshop looks at how to develop good chording skills. The importance of good posture, how to use your arm, elbow, wrist and fingers to produce clean sounding chords.

Develop skills to anticipate chord changes and make clean chord changes.

Fee is $15

HOW TO LEARN NEW CHORDS

Available online on EITHER Thursday July 25th at 11am OR Saturday July 25th at 11am via ZOOM

This 45 minute workshop introduces exercises, tips and tricks to help you learn new chords.

A new way to learn the Bb chord and why it is so useful

Fee is $15

TO REGISTER – email ukelessonsliz@shaw.ca

Full details at https://ukelessonsliz.com/schedule-of-events

We have decided to suspend ticket sales for this year’s festival until we have more information regarding the COVID-19 situation. We hope to make a decision in May/June as the whether the Festival will be go ahead.

If you have already bought tickets, thank you. If we do feel that cancelling the Festival, in an abundance of caution, is the right way to go, you will receive a full refund.

Keep well, stay safe and uke on

Tickets are now available online for our September 18th & 19th September 2020 Ukulele Festival.

http://nanaimoukulelefestival.ca/concert-and-workshop-info/

Unfortunately, we have to postpone our March 22nd Sing and Strum. The venue we use, The Neighbourhood Church, has cancelled all services and events owing to COVID-19 concerns.

We hope to reschedule the event in a month or so.

Online ticket sales will be launched as planned on March 23rd at 10.00am

Keep well, keep safe and uke on

We are adding a new event this year; a Sing and Strum to be held on Sunday March 22nd at The Neighbourhood Church, 4951, Rutherford Road, Nanaimo, between 2pm and 4pm

Doors will open at 2pm and you will be able to buy tickets for this year’s Festival being held on Friday September 18th & Saturday September 19th.

The Sing and Strum will be led by members of The Revolving Doors and chords and lyrics will be projected onto a screen, so you can leave your music stands at home. If you just want to sing, that’s OK too.

This is a free event but donations are welcome.

Anyone buying tickets for the Festival at this event will receive a free Nanaimo Ukulele Festival tote bag.

Just a few days to go before out third Festival at the Neighbourhood Church in Nanaimo. Tickets are flying out the door, so if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, don’t wait too long.

Online tickets sales will close at 10pm on Thursday September 12th. After that, you will only be able to purchase tickets at the venue from 6pm on Friday 13th September and 9.30am on Saturday 14th.

In an effort to reduce the amount of plastics used at the Festival, we encourage you to bring you own reusable water bottle or container to the Festival.

We will have two water stations available for you to refill your bottles. If you forget your container, we can offer you a paper cup to use for the day, but you cannot take the cup into the Sanctuary or workshop rooms.

The Mystery of Chords Workshop on Saturday afternoon has SOLD OUT. If you would like to put your name on a wait list for any cancellations, please email ukelessonsliz@shaw.ca

 

 

There is only one spot left in the Mystery of Chords and two in the TABS/Fingerstyle workshops on Saturday morning, so register very soon if you want to get the last ones.

I’m starting a new Ukulele Orchestra for ukulele players who are keen to play multi-part arrangements in an ensemble. The format will not involve weekly practices but only meet every 4-6 weeks, giving you plenty of time to learn and practice the piece between meetings.

If you are interested, read all the information below and email me at ukelessonsliz@shaw.ca to register.

The Orchestra will be meeting at the Shelly Road Hall in Parksville 10.30am to noon Friday Sept 20th, Oct 18th, Nov 22nd, Jan 10th. I will email out music sheets in both Treble Clef music notation, TABS (for those who don’t read music) and an mp3 recording of each part of the music prior to each session so you can practice and become familiar with each part.

Being able to read, understand and play correct timing of notes is an essential part of ensemble playing. A pre-requisite of being part of the orchestra is being familiar with quarter, half, eighth, dotted and tied notes. I will be giving a workshop on this theme called “Timing is Everything” prior to starting the Orchestra which will explain all of the timing the orchestra will be using in the music we will be playing. If you aren’t familiar with timing, you will have to attend this workshop to be part of the orchestra.

The first of the sessions is a “Timing is Everything” workshop and then three full orchestra sessions. The cost is $120 for the four sessions and you have to pay in full before the first session. If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, there will be no refund or reduction in the fee, but you will get the sheet music etc. for that session to enable you to prepare for the next session. If this format works and there is enough interest, further sessions will follow in February, March and April 2020.

If you can read music and already know and can play timing, you wouldn’t have to attend the “Timing” workshop and the fee would be $90.